No bail for Ramgoolie as mental competency questioned

Rishi Ramgoolie, right, is led into the courtroom for a hearing by defense attorney Jeffrey Marty, left, at the Marion County Judicial Center in Ocala, Fla. on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2012. Ramgoolie, who is accused of killing his infant cousin in 2008, was arrested again Saturday after he led sheriff's deputies on a chase without having a valid driver's license. Doctors said the baby, named Sanjana Muthra, suffered multiple skull fractures, indicating that she had been struck more than once. Ramgoolie has been out on bail since October 2008 and was put on house arrest as a condition of his bond.

Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Star-Banner

By Vishal PersaudStaff writer

Published: Wednesday, January 9, 2013 at 12:40 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, January 9, 2013 at 12:40 p.m.

Rishi Ramgoolie will remain jailed without bail following his arrest on charges of driving without a license and leading sheriff's deputies on a chase.

Rishi Ramgoolie, right, is led into the courtroom for a hearing by defense attorney Jeffrey Marty, left, at the Marion County Judicial Center in Ocala, Fla. on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2012. Ramgoolie, who is accused of killing his infant cousin in 2008, was arrested again Saturday after he led sheriff's deputies on a chase without having a valid driver's license. Doctors said the baby, named Sanjana Muthra, suffered multiple skull fractures, indicating that she had been struck more than once. Ramgoolie has been out on bail since October 2008 and was put on house arrest as a condition of his bond.

While that case proceeds, Ramgoolie has been out of jail on home monitoring. He was arrested Saturday on charges of fleeing and attempting to elude a police officer and driving with no valid driver's license.

Circuit Judge Edward Scott decided that since Ramgoolie's bond for the murder charge was revoked at his first appearance on Sunday, it should stay that way.

Ramgoolie appeared in court Wednesday dressed in an all-red jail jumpsuit and shackled around his waist. He smiled as bailiffs escorted him into the courtroom.

Assistant State Attorney Rock Hooker cited several reasons why bail should not be set in this latest case.

For example, at the Marion County Jail, Ramgoolie reportedly made numerous threatening comments and said he would kill officers and their families.

Hooker also wrote in a motion that the electronic monitoring device Ramgoolie had been wearing on house arrest recorded instances that the state believes may have violated the conditions of his pre-trial release.

Those details would "be further developed with sworn testimony at hearing," Hooker wrote.

Ramgoolie was taken into custody under the state's Baker Act around Dec. 27, 2010, and was also treated for mental health issues as recently as Dec. 17 of last year. He "may be a danger to the public," Hooker wrote.

Late last year, Ramgoolie's mother called authorities to report a home invasion by an alleged pimp of one of the escorts Ramgoolie reportedly had been hiring via the Internet.

Authorities believe the pimp came to Ramgoolie's house to get money owed to the escort, according to a sheriff's report. No arrests were made.

Prior to that, Ramgoolie loaned his mother's vehicle to a man he had just met. He told authorities the man agreed to go buy him groceries — something Ramgoolie couldn't do himself because he was on house arrest.

A week later, when the man had not returned the car, Ramgoolie reported the vehicle as stolen.

When sheriff's officials made contact with the alleged thief, he said Ramgoolie had permitted him to borrow the vehicle for a few days. He said Ramgoolie later called him asking for the car back and "started to threaten his life," sheriff's reports said.

The man said he didn't want to take the car back to Ramgoolie because he feared for his safety, reports said.

Authorities believe that incident may have been drug-related.

Contact Vishal Persaud at 867-4065, vishal.persaud@starbanner.com or on Twitter @vishalpersaud.

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